The Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations (ADHO) invites submission of proposals for its annual conference.

The theme of the 2019 conference is Complexities. This theme has a multifaceted connection with Digital Humanities scholarship. Complexities intends to inspire people to focus on DH as the humanist way of building complex models of complex realities, analysing them with computational methods and communicating the results to a broader public. The theme also invites people to think of the theoretical, social, and cultural complexity and diversity in which DH scholarship is immersed and asks our community to interact consciously and critically in myriad ways, through the conference and the networks, institutions and the enterprises interested in DH research. Finally, it means involving the next generation, teaching DH to students - the people who will need to deal with the complexities of the future.

Proposals related to these themes are particularly welcome, but the Conference will accept submissions on any other aspect or field of Digital Humanities. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

The primary language of the conference will be English, but we warmly invite proposals written in other languages for which we have a sufficient pool of peer reviewers (German, Italian, French and Spanish).

Presentations may include:

Posters (abstract maximum 750 words)

Short papers (abstract maximum 1 000 words)

Long papers (abstract maximum 1 500 words)

Multiple-paper panels (500-word abstracts + 500-word overview)

Pre-conference workshops and tutorials (proposal maximum 1 500 words)

The deadline for submitting poster, short paper, long paper, and multiple-paper panel proposals to the international Program Committee is 11:59pm GMT 27 November 2018. Presenters will be notified of acceptance by March 3 2019.

The deadline for submitting workshops and tutorials, , is 11:59pm GMT, 10 January 2019, with notice of acceptance by 3 March 2019.

To facilitate the production of the conference abstract book, authors of accepted papers will be asked to submit final approved versions of their abstracts via the DHConvalidator, available through ConfTool, which creates a TEI text base of conference abstracts for further processing.

Presenters are encouraged to familiarize themselves with Global Outlook::Digital Humanities’ Translation Toolkit to prepare for a multilingual conference. This includes guidelines and best practices for multilingual slides/posters/handouts and ad hoc community translation: http://go-dh.github.io/translation-toolkit/conferences/.

Similarly, participants are strongly encouraged to make themselves aware of current recommendations for accessibility of presentations and multimedia-based materials. Please review the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Initiative Guidelines on Presentation Accessibility: https://www.w3.org/WAI/training/accessible.

II: TYPES OF PROPOSALS

Proposals may be of five types: (1) poster presentations; (2) short paper presentations; (3) long papers; (4) multiple-paper panels; (5) pre-conference workshops and tutorials. Short paper and poster proposals are especially welcome and, based on peer review and its mandate to create a balanced and varied program, the Program Committee may offer acceptance in a different category from the one initially proposed. The committee will not normally accept more than a total of two submissions from one primary or co-author. Papers and posters may be given in English, French, German, Italian or Spanish.

All proposals should include relevant citations to sources in the appropriate literature. Citations are not to be included in the word count. Additionally, proposals that concentrate on a particular tool or digital resource should cite non-digital as well as computer-based approaches to the problem.

Poster Presentations

Poster proposals (abstract maximum: 750 words) may describe work on any specific topics or methods or present projects and software tools in any stage of development. Poster presentations are intended to be interactive with the opportunity to exchange ideas one-on-one with attendees. Posters are in no way considered lesser forms of presentation at the DH conference and are subject to the same strict peer review as other presentation types. Submissions in this category are strongly encouraged.

Short Papers

Short paper proposals (abstract maximum: 1000 words) are intended to be dynamic 10-minute presentations appropriate for reporting on experiments or works in progress or for describing tools or software in development. Short-paper sessions seek to open dialogues among scholars working on related topics. Short papers are in no way considered lesser forms of presentation at the DH conference and are subject to the same strict peer review as other presentation types. Submissions in this category are strongly encouraged.

Long Papers

Proposals for long papers (abstract maximum: 1500 words) should deal with substantial or completed research; report the development of significant new methodologies or digital resources; or present rigorous theoretical, speculative, or critical discussions. Individual papers will be allocated 20 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for questions.

Proposals relating to the development of new computing methodologies or digital resources should indicate how the methods are applied to research and/or teaching in the humanities and what their impact has been in formulating and addressing research questions. They should also include critical assessments of their application in the humanities as well as of the computing methodologies used.

Multiple Paper Panels

Panels (abstract maximum: 500 words for overview, plus 500 words for each paper) should focus on a single theme and be inherently coherent in presenting a substantial body of research or a research question. Panel submissions which do not meet this criterion and which could function as individual papers will not normally be accepted. A panel should be conceived as a 90-minute session of four to six speakers.

Since the conference offers an important occasion to attract new scholars from diverse backgrounds to specific research areas, those submitting proposals for panels are advised to ensure that the constitution of the panel reflects the constitution of the field and/or research topic that is being addressed and ADHO’s expressed commitment to diversity or to explicitly address problems in those areas. In case the proposer’s own network is too limited, the Program Committee can advise them prior to submission on whom to contact to broaden the panel. Please contact the PC chairs Fabio Ciotti fabio [dot] ciotti [at] uniroma2 [dot] it or Elena Pierazzo elena [dot] pierazzo [at] univ-grenoble-alpes [dot] fr if you need advice.

Pre-Conference Workshops and Tutorials

Tutorials are normally half-day intensive introductions to specific techniques, software packages, or theoretical approaches with a small number of participants. Workshop proposals may take many forms, including proposals with a full slate of speakers and presentations, as well as proposals to issue an independent call for papers from which submissions will be chosen. Participants in pre-conference workshops and tutorials will be expected to register for the full conference as well as pay a small additional fee to the conference. Workshops are expected to be self-financing in terms of hardware and software needs.

Proposals should provide the following information:

Title and brief description of the content or topic and its relevance to the Digital Humanities community (not more than 1500 words);

Full contact information for all tutorial instructors or workshop leaders, including a one-paragraph statement summarizing their research interests and areas of expertise;

Description of target audience and expected number of participants (based, if possible, on past experience); and

Special requirements for technical support.

Additionally, tutorial proposals should include:

A brief outline showing that the core content can be covered in a half-day (approximately 3 hours, plus breaks). In exceptional cases, full-day tutorials may be supported.

Any special requirements for attendees, including software installation (the conference will handle traditional technological support, but workshop organizers are expected to manage specific needs such as access to software, servers, etc.).

If the workshop is to have its own call for participation, a deadline and date for notification of acceptances, and a list of individuals who have agreed to be part of the workshop’s Program Committee.

As with Multiple Paper Panel proposals, those submitting proposals for pre-conference workshops are advised to ensure that the constitution of the workshop reflects the constitution of the field and/or research topic that is being addressed and ADHO’s expressed commitment to diversity, or explicitly address problems in those areas. In case the proposer’s own network is too limited, the Program Committee can advise them before submission on whom to contact to broaden the panel. Please contact the PC chairs Fabio Ciotti fabio [dot] ciotti [at] uniroma2 [dot] it or Elena Pierazzo elena [dot] pierazzo [at] univ-grenoble-alpes [dot] fr if you need advice.

N.B. Pre-conference workshops endorsed by ADHO Special Interest Groups (SIGs) will be considered via separate calls put out by SIG conveners and will not be evaluated in the general academic program review process.

III: ADHO CONFERENCE CODE OF CONDUCT

The Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations (ADHO) is dedicated to creating a safe, respectful, and collegial conference environment for the benefit of everyone who attends and for the advancement of research and scholarship in fields supported by our constituent organizations. The ADHO Digital Humanities conference Code of Conduct is available at http://adho.org/administration/conference-coordinating-program-committee/adho-conference-code-conduct. All people submitting proposals to DH2018 should observe and uphold it.

IV: VENUE

DH2019 will take place at the TivoliVredenburg music theatre in the city centre of Utrecht, the Netherlands, and is hosted by the Faculty of Humanities at Utrecht University. The co-chairs of the local organization committee are Franciska de Jong and Joris van Eijnatten.

V: BURSARIES FOR EARLY-CAREER AND EMERGING SCHOLARS

The Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations will offer a limited number of bursaries for early-career scholars presenting at the conference. Application guidelines will appear on the ADHO website early in 2019: http://www.adho.org.